Boys' Names I Love

Zhivago

Russian literary name

"life"

For lovers of Pasternak's great doctor, a lively middle name choice, one made by actress Nia Long.

Django

Romani

"I awake"

Django — the D is silent as most everyone now knows — the nickname of the great Belgian-born jazz guitarist Django (originally Jean Baptiste) Reinhardt, makes a dynamic musical choice for…

Ptolemy

Greek

"aggressive, warlike"

Pronounced "TAHL-a-mee," this was the name of one of Alexander the Great's generals and several Greco-Egyptian rulers, as well as the name of a famous Greek astronomer. Actress Gretchen Mol brought…

Caledon

Irish place-name from Caledonia

"hard or rocky land"

Caledon, the name of the arrogant Billy Zane character in "Titanic," is an Irish place-name related to Caledonia, the Latin word for Scotland thought to be derived from the ancient Celtic word for…

Levon

Armenian, variation of Leon

"lion"

Levon, an unusual alternative to Levi. has two musical associations: it's the title of an Elton John song, inspired by late, great drummer for The Band, Levon Helm--whose birth name was Mark. Uma…

Lorcan

Irish

"little, fierce"

Lorcan is a name rich in Irish history as belonging to several kings, including the grandfather of the most famous high king of Ireland, Brian Boru. Lorcan O'Toole, known in English as Laurence…

Arran

Scottish place name

"ridged island"

Arran Island (not to be confused with the Aran Islands in Ireland) is a large island in Scotland's Firth (or bay) of Clyde. An attractive name, long popular in Scotland, but may be confused with the…

D'artagnan

French

"from Artagnan"

The least usable of the Three Musketeers names.

Walden

English

"valley of the Welsh"

Walden is a recent entrant to the en-ending boys' names trend, a name that summons up placid images of Thoreau's two-year stay contemplating nature near Walden Pond. A quite different image came into…

Hal

Diminutive of Harold or Henry, English, Scandinavian, German

"army ruler or estate ruler"

Could Hal be the Jack, Max, or Gus of the future? It just might happen in the new nickname environment, especially with Cal and Cy feeling cool, and with the interest in vintage, cowboy-esque…

Drummer

Occupational word name

Drummer entered the baby name lexicon thanks to blogger No Big Dill, who chose it for her newborn son, who joins five older sisters. Drummer is right in step with other occupational names in vogue…